Every Single Syllable

Banks “Sawzall”

“Sawzall” is a surprisingly coherent song for something that moves between four totally distinct sections with only Banks’ vocal melody tying it all together. Some motifs do return in the finale, but the general feeling here is of someone adrift in guilt and regret as they reflect on a lot of red flags they’d ignored in a relationship with someone with serious mental illness. Banks performs with both vulnerability and sensitivity – there’s some degree of self-flagellation, but the emphasis is placed on empathy for this other person who’s in even worse pain than she is. The lateral drift of the arrangement simulates being lost in thought, but when the opening piano motif returns it sounds like she’s reconnecting with a feeling rather than just looping around for another cycle.

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